Les Bowen

STAFF WRITER

Les Bowen has covered the Eagles since 2002. Before that, he covered the Flyers for 13 years. He came to the Daily News from the Charlotte Observer in May 1983, just as the Sixers were winning the NBA championship. He thought, "Gosh, this sort of thing must happen all the time here."

It might be good to take this with a grain of midwestern steak salt, but former Eagles coach Andy Reid said in his introductory press conference in Kansas City Monday that he and the as-yet-unnamed Chiefs GM will each report to Chiefs owner Clark Hunt. Reid said this was different from the situation in Philadelphia, where Reid had been director of football operations since 2001 and had final say on football matters.

The thing is, though, the Chiefs jettisoned general manager Scott Pioli as they were hiring Reid, which seemed to be a strong hint that the next GM would be someone Andy basically picked, such as former Eagles and Browns GM Tom Heckert or Packers exec John Dorsey.

Reid said he would sit in on GM interviews, but the decision would be Hunt's.

Otherwise, Reid said pretty much what you would expect him to say, attired in a light gray suit with a red Chiefs tie, which looked odd after 14 years of Eagles wear. He said he "came from a fan base that's tremendous, (but) the sea of red is just phenomenal." He said he will be bringing coaches with him from Philadelphia, but that isn't completely settled yet. He said he met with the current staff today, and indicated some of them might survive the regime change.

"I've gotta find that next Len Dawson, doggone it," Reid said, underscoring both the importance of a franchise quarterback, and how long it has been since Kansas City had one.

"We're gonna coach hard, make sure we build a foundation," said Reid. He acknowledged his last few years here weren't good, but he indicated he thinks he should be judged on his entire 14-year reign.

Poll

With college coaches out of the mix, who is the best candidate for the Eagles job?

Bruce Arians

Keith Armstrong

Gus Bradley

Jay Gruden

Mike McCoy

Mike Nolan

"I can leave Philadelphia saying I gave it my all," said Reid, who is scheduled to speak with Philadelphia reporters on a conference call at 4 p.m.